Fortinet Cookbook - Registration, Activation, Firmware Update and Backup

Every firewall manufacturer offers different ways to manage their devices. In particular, the configuration of a firewall differs significantly from customer to customer. The manufacturer Fortinet offers the so-called "Fortinet Cookbook" to facilitate the administration and configuration of firewalls and other products. However, this information material is only available in English. Therefore, in the following article we will explain the topics of firewall registration, activating a licence, updating the firewall firmware and installing a firewall backup in German.

How do I register my FortiGate?

To register your products, you need a Fortinet support account, which you can easily create on the FortinetONE Support page. Then you have to select the field "Asset" in the header and click on the page "Register/Activate" in the tab that pops up. This takes you to the registration page or "Registration Wizard". Here you can not only register your firewall, but also activate your licences.

How do I activate my Fortinet licences?

As mentioned earlier, you can activate your Fortinet licences via Fortinet's support page or you can do it directly via your Fortinet. Your purchase will include an activation key, you will need this key no matter which variant you choose.
If you choose the FortiGate variant, after logging in you have to select "System" in the tab on the left side of the screen and then the sub-item "FortiGuard". You will now see a list of all possible Fortinet licences for this device and also their status, i.e. whether they are activated and for how long. If your licence expires or you want to upgrade it to your new device, select the corresponding licence and press "Purchase". In the field that opens, you must enter the activation key and confirm with activate. In the case of a UTM or Enterprise Bundle, the key is valid for several licences. Please note that licences that have expired for a longer period of time may be backdated by up to half a year.

How can I update the FortiGate firmware?

If you have activated your firewall and licences via the Support Portal, you can also obtain an up-to-date firmware image via the site, but we recommend the quicker and easier method via the firewall. This variant also only works if you have activated at least one support licence on your FortiGate. To do this, after logging into the firewall, select the sub-item "Firmware" in the table on the left-hand side under "System". If the firewall recognises the licences and a new firmware is available, the update is displayed here and can be initialised. The update is then downloaded, the file is checked for errors and the firewall is automatically rebooted after the update.

How can I restore a backup setting to the FortiGate unit?

You still have a back-up from another FortiGate unit of this model and would like to save yourself some work with the system settings? No problem, the BackUp is easy to implement. After logging on to the firewall, you only have to move your cursor over the user symbol in the upper right corner. A tab will open in which you can select "Configuration" and then the sub-item "BackUp". Insert the BackUp file and start the update. The FortiGate unit is restarted after the back-up has been imported. The password from the BackUp is required to log in. The BackUp can be installed at any time and does not have to be installed after the licences or the firmware update.

We would like to refer you to the Fortinet Cookbook, which explains these and other important points for setting up your Fortinet products in detail.